Hyundai Motor denies tie-up with Tencent on driverless car software

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A man walks past the logo of Hyundai Motor during the 2019 Seoul Motor Show in Goyang, South Korea, March 28, 2019. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/Files

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Co on Sunday denied a report that it had signed a preliminary deal with Chinese technology firm Tencent Holdings to develop software for driverless vehicles.

Hyundai’s comments come a day after South Korea’s Maeil Business Newspaper cited unnamed industry sources on Saturday saying that the two companies planned to conduct joint research and development on safety and security systems for self-driving cars, which Hyundai seeks to roll out commercially by 2030.

Both companies had not offered any immediate comments on Saturday.

Hyundai said in a statement on Sunday that its cooperation with the Chinese tech giant was focused on infotainment. Modern cars have so-called infotainment systems on a screen below the dashboard to provide services such as navigation and music.